The Silkmen exited the Isuzu FA Trophy following a 1-0 defeat at Bridlington Town on Saturday afternoon.
Casey Stewart’s second-half header proved the difference at Queensgate as the Silkmen were knocked-out of the competition at the second-round stage.
Manager John Rooney made eight changes from last Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup game at Mansfield Town, which saw Lincoln McFayden return to the starting line-up following a lengthy injury.
Macc survived a scare inside the first five minutes in East Yorkshire after Destiny Nnenanya’s header from a corner struck the crossbar.
Six minutes later, Nnenanya then had another opportunity, as he dragged his effort just past Paul Cooper’s post.
On the half hour, Veron Parny drove at the Seasiders’ defence for the Silkmen and forced a good stop from home goalkeeper, Alex Baird.
Alex Markham then went close for Scott Kerr’s hosts, arrowing a fierce rising effort towards goal, which narrowly went over Cooper’s crossbar.
The Silkmen were forced into a change shortly before half-time, as Cameron Borthwick-Jackson was replaced by Tom Wilson.
Cooper was called into action as the interval approached when the Silkmen stopper denied forward Nnenanya who was through on goal.
The Silkmen had the first chance of the second-half within a minute of the restart after Josh Kay got in behind the Bridlington back line to shoot from inside the box, but his strike went off target.
At the other end, Cooper then had to make an important save as he narrowed the angle to thwart Eddie Kettlewell’s attempt.
The Silkmen were behind on 59 minutes when Stewart connected with Tom Allan’s header across goal after a free-kick to head beyond Cooper.
Immediately after the goal, Rooney made a triple substitution, as Parny, Theo Chapman and McFayden were replaced by Danny Elliott, George Wilson and Jon Ustabasi.
Midway through the half, Luca Bolino fizzed a bending strike wide as Bridlington nearly scored a second of the cup tie.
With 18 minutes left, Luke Duffy was introduced for the Silkmen in place of Muhamed Diomande.
Bridlington had two chances in quick succession. Firstly, Kyle Fanning’s shot from the edge of the box found the side-netting prior to Stewart’s diving header flashed wide.
Macc were unable to find an elusive goal in the final minutes to take the tie to penalties, as the Silkmen were defeated on the road.
The Silkmen return to Enterprise National League North action on Tuesday night away at Oxford City, kick-off 7:45pm. Purchase your tickets by clicking here.
Sponsored by Bollington Dental Practice
Report by Ben Reardon
